Two Nationwide TROs Enjoin the Majority of Trump’s Travel Ban 3.0

Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson in Hawaii blocked the Trump administration from implementing the majority of the latest version of the president’s controversial Travel Ban 3.0, hours before it was due to take effect. Today, Politico reported that U.S. District Court Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland granted a second nationwide preliminary injunction against the travel ban. As this …

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Lawsuit Filed by Passengers Made to Present ID to CBP to Exit Plane

Several passengers who were aboard a domestic flight from San Francisco to New York in February 2017 where U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made all passengers present identification before exiting the plane have filed a lawsuit challenging the government’s action as an illegal search and seizure. According to the plaintiffs, “Two uniformed CBP officers positioned themselves at …

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Association of Immigration Judges Asserts that Performance Quotas are a Threat to Due Process

The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) stated that it opposes EOIR’s plan to evaluate immigration judges (IJs) using numerical measures such as performance quotas, stating that “If EOIR is successful in tying case completion quotas to judge performance evaluations, it could be the death knell for judicial independence in the Immigration Courts.” NAIJ also submitted a statement to the Senate …

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Court Affirms Preliminary Injunction Requiring IJs to Consider a Detainee’s Financial Ability to Pay When Setting a Bond

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order granting a preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs, a class of noncitizens in removal proceedings who are detained under INA §236(a) in the Central District of California and are unable to afford the amount of bond set by immigration officials. Finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on …

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DOL Announces Changes to Its iCERT System for H-2A and H-2B Programs

For FY2017, more than 83 percent of H-2A applications and approximately 94 percent of H-2B applications were submitted electronically through the iCERT System with very little system disruption during the peak filing season. In an effort to provide better service and ensure more complete H-2A and H-2B applications are submitted for review, DOL’s Office of …

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BIA Remands to Determine If Beneficiary’s Birth Certificate Is Sufficient

In a precedent decision issued on September 20, 2017, the BIA held that where a petitioner seeking to prove a familial relationship submits a birth certificate that was not registered contemporaneously with the birth, an adjudicator must consider the birth certificate, as well as all the other evidence of record and the circumstances of the case, to …

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New York Times: As DACA Negotiations Drag on, a Judge in Brooklyn Could Intervene

The New York Times reports that President Trump’s laundry list of immigration demands threw a wrench into the fraught negotiations over finding a legislative solution to provide permanent protection for Dreamers. But if the Washington deal-making drags on too long, it could be disrupted by a different force: a federal judge in Brooklyn. Having found himself in a position …

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USCIS Changes to Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129 Petitions

On October 12, 2017, USCIS changed the direct filing addresses for petitioners of Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker. Petitioners must now file Form I-129 according to the state where the company or organization’s primary office is located. In addition, petitioners located in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas must now file Form I-129 at the California …

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Associated Press: Lawsuit Targets Searches of Electronic Devices at U.S. Border

The Associated Press reports that a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday claims the U.S. government’s growing practice of searching laptops and cellphones at the border is unconstitutional because electronic devices now carry troves of private personal and business information. The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires law enforcement to secure warrants based …

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BIA Clarifies Standard for Determining When a Misrepresentation Is “Material” Under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i)

In a case before the BIA on remand from the Ninth Circuit for further clarification of portions of the agency’s April 2011 decision in Matter of D-R-, the BIA held in a precedent decision issued today that a misrepresentation is material under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i) when it tends to shut off a line of inquiry that is relevant to …

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